Gonzo's Visit Puerto Rico!

A month late....

So, Leo and I travelled to the PR a couple of years back...we didn't like it at all. Come to find out AFTER our return, we stayed at the wrong end of the island (San Juan). So when we decided to venture back, along with our 15 year old twins, we took some advice from Leo's Mom and stayed in Fajardo (Eastern side of the island).

We were all BLOWN away how beautiful it was! We stayed at a resort on a cliff overlooking the Carribean Sea and loved every minute of it. From our private island, to the water park, to hiking in the rainforest, to shopping downtown and just chilling in our room watching DVD's...we had an absolute blast! Leo was in heaven with the food...it is very much like Colombian food. I had heard that PR was more beautiful than Hawaii, and after the first time I couldn't believe that comparison...but after this trip, I think PR is definately in 1st place with Hawaii in my book.

The reason for our little getaway was for Steph & Liz. In Leo's Latino culture once the girls turn 15, they have what is called a Quincenara (sp?). We had planned to go down to South America and show the girls where Leo grew up in Colombia...but the passports didn't get to us in time. So, the PR was the concellation prize.

We just love our Twinnies so much! I don't know what I would do without them. I am so lucky to have the wonderful daughters I have!

View from our room

Stephie reading as we waited for our car

Coqui Waterpark

Hike to the Rainforest

Another view from our room

Private Island

Before our Hike...the after picture is all sweaty and gross!

Twins with the Jeep Dad rented for them

Twins in the Carribean

I forgot...we had a competition to see who could ask the most locals their names and ask in Spanish/English and remember them in order. I think I totally won...I had like 12 names....Orlando, Jesus, Rafael, Brenda, Milagros...

Family Update

It's been awhile since I've updated this bloggity-blog. Here is what we have been up to:

Steph & Liz turn 15!

We had a BBQ with family and they received lots of cute clothes from everyone. And from Dad & Mom? We are taking them to Puerto Rico in 2 weeks! We've all been working on our tans at the pool!

Amber gets a BLACK EYE!

No, Leo didn't beat me...although it was fun to tell people he did! I injured myself at the gym while raising a bar...the swingy thing hit me as I pushed the pin in. Yes, I felt totally stupid...and No, I didn't run out of the gym. Leo and I competed in our neighborhood PHAT CLUB and I needed to get my workout in for the day. So, I excersised while holding an ice pack up to my eye.

Lulu had PUPPIES!

After much anticipation and after 36 hours of labor, Lulu delivered 7 beautiful puppies on June 27th. All the girls helped me deliver the puppies at 2am! We have 3 girls and 4 boys. Since this is Lulu's last litter, we have decided to keep one of the little girls.

Beezer graduates AGAIN!

Beezer ended his 2nd year with Miss Marla. He will be turning 5 at the end of August, but we have decided not to start Kindergarten until next year.


There you have it...that was the first 1/2 of our Summer. More to come when we get home from Puerto Rico!

Chicago Preview

We are having such a blast in Chicago with the Mini-Twinnies!

The deal was that Michael & Haili would each get a "buddy" to take care of. Haili chose Holland and Michael chose Ethan. They are doing awesome taking care of them and even change all their diapers!

We have been keeping busy everyday trying to get the kids out by planning an activity each day.

So far we've been to the Beach, the Zoo, a swimming park, the Mall, a yummy Bakery, and a few parks.

Here are some preview pictures of the trip:

BFF's Mason and Holland


Kids riding the Choo-choo at the Zoo





Our outing to Costco...thank goodness for the double carts!



Holland, Mason & Ethan playing with buggies at the park





Ethan & Mason heading out for the day


H & H walking to the park

Kids playing at the Mall

Husband - Father's Day

I rarely answer these, but since it comes from one of my favorite sisters, I will. Along with that I'll throw in a shout out for upcoming Father's Day since I will be in Chicago for the next couple of weeks.

What is his Name?
Rafael Leonardo (yes he has 2 of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle names) We call him Leo, Tio Leo, Bunny and the kids latest name for him is Fabio.

Who eats More?
For sure Leo

Who said I love you First?
For sure Leo...he said that the moment he saw me he told his friend, "She is going to be the Mother of my kids."


Who is Taller?
This would be an ongoing battle between the both of us. I think we are the same, but he thinks he is 5'11 and 1/2" I need to solve this once and for all and measure him.

Who is Smarter?
Street smart=Me
Business smart=Him

Who is more Sensitive?
For sure him. He loves his Chick Flicks!

Who does the Laundry?
Me and Mr. DryCleaners

Who sleeps in the right side of the bed?
Leo, just incase we have an intruder so he can protect me with his fireplace stick under the bed.

Who pays the Bills?
Ugh! Me...and I HATE it! He took it over for a weekend and gave it back to me.

Who cooks More?
Probably me...which isn't very often. My poor family!

Who is more Stubborn?
Me...I hope he doesn't read this because I've NEVER admitted that I'm stubborn to ANYONE!

Who is first to admit they are Wrong?
Him, even if he's not.

Who is Cleaner?
Both of us.

Who wears the pants in the Family?
I used to, but he for sure does now and I kind of like that.

What do you like to do Together?
We love to play games, watch our Reality T.V. shows, The Office, Jazz Games and hang out with our kids and friends.

Who eats more Sweets?
Me for sure. Leo is more concious about what he eats, unless it's the weekend, then he'll pig out wit me.

How did you Meet?
At work, he was actually my Supervisor. Even though I didn't really like him at the time, I totally took advantage of the situation. I would always ask him questions and talk to him so I wouldn't have to do my job. He totally fell for it! Although the first time I saw him was my 1st day back to work after having Haili...I got one glimpse at him and I thought for sure...how do I say it...that he liked men. He dressed way too nice back in the day when he was single, plus every man we worked with at SouthWest like men. Today you throw 6 kids into the mix and now his wardrobe consists of Old Navy and Target.

Who Proposed?
Long story...he did. I broke it off after a month or so and 6 months later we got back together and he didn't believe that I was for real this time. So, I called the Temple and made a tentative date in front of him so he would believe I was serious. The rest is history!

What are his best Features?
His accent, his love, his joke-telling skills, his cute nosey, his biceps, when he speaks to me in Spanish....need I say more?

I love my Leo so much! I am so happy that I married him and that he chose me to be his wife. He helps me in so many ways...He is such a good friend, a good brother, son, husband, dad and BFF to his friends. He is such a great example to others and always tries a little harder to be that much better. I'm very proud of all he has accomplished in his 39 1/2 years!

I Love You Conejo!

Weekend Update

I had a great Mother's Day weekend...isn't it always a "weekend" affair, or just in my house? Leo and the kids woke me up with kisses and presents...Brandon made a cute bookmark in Preschool that says: "I love my Mom because..." and he filled in the rest " she takes me to the gym." So cute! He also gave me what seems to be a large dishcloth with his handprints, but he told me it was a blanky and to make sure I kept it away from Mason.

Haili made me a cute card at school and her and Leo gave me some new running shoes!

We didn't go to church because we got to call Erik on his mission with Babs. So, we (Leo mainly) were able to talke to him for about 30 minutes. It's so cute to see how much CLB loves Leo...he said that he shows everyone pictures of Leo (I don't think they have ever seen a Hispanic) and all the people ask if Leo is his Dad.

Later that afternoon Leo and I went to the Jazz playoff game (I know...it was Sunday) and they won so it was pretty fun. Afterwards we headed home to a BBQ with Babs, Alysia, Steph & Liz and all their cute little brothers and sisters. The Girls and Mikey (along with Alysia) gave me some much needed yummy lotion. We ended the evening by playing Settlers and teaching Alysia the next level of the game...it is so fun to hang out with everyone together. We are very blessed that we all get a long so well. It's so fun to have Alysia over to help me tease Leo!

P.S. Regarding the previous post about the Goodyear Tire Blowout...I am happy to report that Goodyear cut us a check for $1900 to cover the damages to our car and a replacement tire!

Gonzo's are SAFE!

So when I told the kids to get in the picture they all smiled...I said, "Don't smile, we are sending this picture to Goodyear Tires!"

So last Saturday Leo scored a couple of nights at his sister's condo in St. George last minute...like the night before he finalized the plans. (I had been looking to go with Rachie and the mini-twinnies if she had come out..this part will come into play as the story unfolds). SO, we packed up the family in a hurry and headed down to St. George on Saturday. Our BFF's were also down there staying at the same condos and Leo rushed us all out the door because him and Dan had a tee time at 4ish.

The Tire

After we stopped in Mapleton to grab the Twins we headed on the road in our new car...this was our first trip in it and we were excited to see how the Suburban would hold up. We were on a bit of a time crunch...Leo's tee time....Costco is only open until 6pm there ..checkin time at the condo....and just because we didn't want to be in the car any longer than we had to with 2 little stinkers. We were making pretty good time when all of a sudden we heard a BOOM...the car started shaking and I thought we were seriously going to die. I could feel the adrenaline in my legs and they literally froze. Leo and I both knew that the tire had blown and I was prepping for the car to roll over down the cliff that was on my side.

Thank goodness for a husband who knew what he was doing...he always talks about going "Colombian Style" with his driving skills and is usually a crazy driver, but he was going the speed limit the whole trip (cruise control) and knew what to do.

SIDENOTE:

All I kept thinking was if it were me driving, I probably would've slammed on the brakes and we for sure would've rolled. And then I got to thinking later that night that IF Rachie HAD come down with the mini-twinnies and we had gone to St.George with the kiddies by ourselves, none of us would be here right now.

Leo pulled over to the side of the road and we could not believe the damage. Not only was the tire mutilated, the side of our car was damaged as well. (I am still having issues with my new car being damaged)We had no clue where the jack was or how to use it on this car. So, the kids all got out, sat on a blanket and Leo tried to figure it out. LUCKILY a nice guy pulled over at the bottom of the cliff and hiked up the hill to help us. Leo was having a hard time opening the jack screw and kept blaming it on his bad wrist (note: Snowmobiling Post in February)...the guy was able to open it on the first try....it was cute, we actually had something to laugh about.

So what was supposed to be a QUICK, CHEAP trip turned out to cost us more than we were planning on. But what matters most is that the Gonzo's are SAFE!

We had a great time in St. George and NO Leo didn't make his tee time, and YES I did make it to Costco with 5 minutes to spare...I hate feeling rushed in that store!

Steph, Mason, Spiderman & Liz


Mikey in timeout...yes we still put our tweens in timeout!

Mason on his "wee"

Brandon on the monkey bars

Mikey in timeout AGAIN...we love our Mikey even when he is a stinker!

Easter with the Gonzo's

So WE (Leo & I) had an agreement this year....he would: Go to 3 Jazz games in 1 week, Give my seat away to his BFF's for all 3 games, Be out late after the games, Pull money from the "Budget" to eat out for each game, And then go out to breakfast with his BFF's after the games

IF

He would spend ALL day with us on Saturday doing whatever we wanted to do (including coloring eggs)....ALL with a smile on his face and without rolling his eyes. Who do you think made good on their agreement? Why yes, you are correct....Amber did....well, I really didn't have anything on my end to agree...I was just trying to be a nice wife and let him have some fun.

Leo tried hard to follow through on his end, but only made it about 15 minutes (in the car) without rolling his eyes and mumbling some unspoken words in Spanish under his breath (he couldn't find a parking spot at Gardner Village) AND he still got to cash in his winnings.

The Plan: So we (the kids and I) wanted to go to Gardner Village's petting farm. But, it happened to be closed...on a Saturday? So, instead we went to the YUMMY Bakery and scarffed down some cinammon rolls. Then we ate lunch at The Pie...yes, we had dessert first...we always do, that is how we keep our cute figures! It was warm enough at The Pie to eat outside and the boys had a blast running around by the huge water fountain.

After that we went home to color Easter eggs. This would be the 1st year Leo has officiated/participated with this annual task with the kiddies. That is mainly why I am blogging this event...so I can document the exact year that he finally came around. He really did a great job with the kids

EASTER MORNING:

We have church at 9am, and it is already hard for us to get 6 kids plus ourselves ready and be there to get a seat by 9am. With that said, the Easter Bunny called Mommy to tell her that he would be stopping by while we were at church.

I came home just a little bit before noon to set up the Easter Egg Hunt on the front lawn and set the kids baskets out.

Brandon was tearing himself from his carseat as Leo pulled into the driveway after church. He saw that the Easter Bunny came and "popped around" (the term he likes to use) and left some chalk and bubbles for Brandon & Mason.

Brandon also asked me a great question....is the Easter Bunny a Boy or a Girl? Hmmm....I told him to go ask the Twins because I wasn't sure. They told him that the Easter Bunny was definitely a boy. I've always thought that, but I bought a cute lifesize Bunny figure for the porch, and it is a Girl...so I was a little confused.

Anyway, we had a great Easter again this year and enjoyed having all 6 of our kids with us to celebrate this fun Holiday!

Oh yeah, after much discussion with the kids, Leo FINALLY agreed to let us get a bunny!


Rosie the Rabbit

Babysitter?

Quick question? Why do all husbands/fathers think that when they are watching their own kids it is considered "babysitting"? If that is the case, then I am a full-time Nanny and should be paid accordingly.

So, the other night I asked Leo to watch Mason while I finished up some on the computer. He said, "Sure, no problem I'll babysit for you."

I should've know that that was way too easy....after all, he was watching his Spanish Soap Opera and it was at the climax of the storyline that night. So, there is Leo, remote in hand eating his chips and salsa not paying attention to a thing besides watching Julio and Maria that-are-in-love-but-have-to-marry-other-people-or-the-druglords-will-kill-them-both when I finish up my work and go upstairs to find Leo almost in tears as the couple is kissing on TV. I asked him where Mason was and his eyes got huge, like that "Oh crap" moment when you knew you were supposed to be doing something and forgot. I go to Mason's favorite spot, which is my bathroom and there he is covered in mascara! I have to admit, it was kind of cute...he's been watching Mommy put on makeup and managed to get the majority of it around his eyes.

BUT... my point being...why do they always think of themselves as babysitters and not Dad's?

Happy V-Day L-E-O

The LoveBirds

As always, I'm a little late...BUT this time with good reason. I wanted to give my Leo a shout out with this post...he deserves at least that right?

So...here is the lowdown on our crazy V-Day WEEK!

Last week Leo planned a snowmobiling trip with some friends in the neighborhood as a early Valentines gift. Have you ever had those kind of gifts? The ones that your husband gives you but it is clearly for him? Well, Leo loves to give gifts like that...ask me later what I got for my B-day...let's just say it was all from Victoria's Secret.

Anyway...we went snowmobiling all day last Saturday...it was a lot of fun. I think Leo would have had a lot funner without me there...he was driving the both of us and was always telling me when to lean to the side...I was off by a few seconds everytime because I was enjoying the view on top of the mountains. We only tipped over once and Leo has the sprained wrist to prove it...he thinks it's broken, but I told him to slap a wrist brace on and tough it up..give it a couple of weeks and you'll be fine. (I really just said that because our insurance sucks and it would probably cost $1000 just to go to the doctor).

So, after all day snowmobiling and the guys talking about their "favorite" subject both up and back in the car, we headed to our friends house to hot tub. After that we got ready and went to dinner and the movie Fool's Gold. If you haven't seen it, it is well worth the $7...not because it had a good storyline, but because Matthew Mc? is shirtless almost the whole movie. And I LOVE the chemistry between him and Kate Hudson. I was expecting more out of the movie and was hoping it would be as good as "How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days"...but it didn't even come close. Oh well, it is still worth seeing.

So that was LAST weekend....fast forward now to last night....VALENTINE'S DAY.

Part of my gift to Leo was painting our room and decorating it different...here is a pic of the wall...I LOVE the color...I want to paint my kitchen this as well.

The color is called "Burlap"

We went to dinner with BFF's #1 & #2 to Carvers...it was super good and fun. We love hanging out with the Summerhays' and Bushs'....we love them all so much. They are all from our last ward and they have always been friends we can count on no matter what. That is why we have rated them as #1 & #2 although we are probably #24 & #25 on their list!

Jaime & Danny

Lorraine & Joe

After din-din we headed over to the movies and watched "Step-it-Up 2"....just kidding...that was for you Jaime! We saw "Jumper" which was pretty good...another movie with some eye-candy...especially needed on Valentines Day!

Afterwards we came home for a little R & R....and that was it!

Cute Little Bumma Leaves for Russia

Elder CLB & Elder Gonzo

Beezer giving his Cunado one last hug

"Cheez....it's my birthday today and no one seems to care because Erik is leaving...."

Beezer pulling one of the suitcases...note his jacket...more to come on that!

So, as my previous post mentioned, we dropped Erik off at the MTC/chapel on January 16th...it was a really fun experience to have with him. Brandon wanted to go see his Cunado off, so we told him to get dressed and ready. As we were leaving, I told him to grab his coat...well Tia Sandra had just given him a decked out Harley Davidson leather jacket (with tassels on the sleeves) the night before...the picture above doesn't do it justice. The back of the jacket has the huge Harley emblem and name all over the place. So, Brandon comes out of his room with his new jacket on, I told him he couldn't wear that to the MTC, it wasn't appropriate. But, he REALLY REALLY wanted to wear it. Needless to say, everyone who he walked passed at the chapel cracked up at the sight of this little 4 year old with this bold jacket on. It was pretty funny!

Barb and Erik came over to our house before we left so Erik could say goodbye to the kiddies...as mentioned before, it was Mason's birthday and we wanted some pics of the 2 of them together. They said their goodbyes and we headed on down to Provo...we told Erik we would take him out to lunch anywhere he wanted to go...so he chose Wendy's for his "last supper/lunch"....he ordered chicken nuggets and a WATER...now was his chance to splurge and have something good and that was what he chose?

Then we headed off to the chapel...it was a madhouse to say the least. Brandon helped Erik take his luggage in and we waited in the Chapel for Erik and Leo. The devotional was good, Tio Leo was emotional as usual and instead of consolling the Missionary, Erik was consolling Leo and holding and rubbing his back. It was cute...they really love each other a lot...Erik is Leo's white little brother he never had.

After the service, we headed our way and Erik walked out the other way. It was pretty quick, only about 30 minutes and the Gonzo's and Barb were on our way back home.

We love our Cute Little Bumma Erik and hope he is safe and has a really good time in Russia!

Mason Turns 2 & Erik leaves for 2!

Mason at Leatherby's

We LOVE those Lippies!
So...Mason turned 2 on January 16th. We celebrated with Barbie and Little Bumma coming over at about 10ish before the BIG departure to the MTC. Leo and I were fortunate enough to be able to go with Barbie to deliver our Little Bumma off to Provo and then off to Russia for 2 years. Mason's b-day was kind of forgotten....in a good way. (The next post will be dedicated to the departure of CLB)

We waited until the weekend so the Twins could be with us to celebrate. We ate Mason's favorite din-din which is pancakes and juice and then headed off to good old Leatherby's. For those of you who do/don't know about Leatherby's there are only 2 left here in the city. One is located in Taylorsville...and the other is located in Midvale....Little Tijuana as we like to call it. We chose to go to the Taylorsville location because believe it or not at the Midvale location they serve tacos with your ice cream...if you want. And even though 90% of the Gonzo's have some Hispanic blood in them, we aren't that Hispanic...and actually I'm not even the least bit Hispanic. So...we chose to go to the original Leatherby's. The employees there sang to Mason and he was full of laughs.

I can't even begin to express how much I love this little guy. He is my sweetheart and the love of my life. He loves "hee-hees" (horses) "a-hai" (Backyardigans) and "Joosh" (juice)...but most of all he loves his "Haylay" (Haili). He could have just woken up from a nap and the first thing he asks for is HAYLAY...if he gets hurt, it's HAYLAY...and when he wants to cuddle, it's HAYLAY.
It is so sweet how much he loves her.

Besides being a sweet little boy, Mason has a mean, high-pitched scream that can break anyones eardrums...he also can throw cars at the walls and hit his family better than his big brother Brandon.

Over all...we love everything about him and are so happy to have this little guy in our family.

Happy Birthday Mason!

Gonzo Update!

WOW...I am SOOO glad the Holidays are over. I haven't posted anything in 2 flipping months! So, for my sake, I am going to add a little run down of what the Gonzo's have been up to:

1. Kicked out of our Dinner Group...this weighs heaviest on my mind
2. Invited into a "couples" Bunko group
3. I've have been sicker than a dog for the past 2 weeks
4. Haili finally gets her spacer out...no more "sh" or "ch" sounds
5. Michael is doing awesome in Basketball
6. Mason will be 2 years old in a couple of days
7. Leo gave me a coupon book for Christmas...that was my favorite gift by far!
8. Leo's company is doing good..he gave me a job proposal...I'm thinking it over
9. We had the Tuna's over for 2 weeks...always fun times
10. Steph and Liz are getting contacts this weekend
11. I'm working from home 2 out of my 3 days now...yeah!
12. We finally got our much needed Suburban...minivan anyone?
13. The Biggest Loser is back on and Leo and I are having our own competition
14. The house is a mess
15. I'm getting REALLY good at Guitar Hero

There, that should hold me over for another couple of months.

Random Gonzo Pics

Liz, Tony (Liz's "boyfriend") & Steph at their Halloween Choir performance.

Steph, Karina & Liz ready for the Halloween Dance.

The American Biker Chic "Candy" with Her Hispanic Boyfriend/Biker "Rafael Jose Montoya" ready to compete at the Patterson's Annual Halloween Party for 1st Place...we took a tie for 2nd...with honorable mentions

A Monkey dressed as "King Kong"...

My cute little Monsters...Brandon and Mason

The Alien and The Rock Star

Leo getting ready to watch our favorite show "The Biggest Loser" along with his 2 boxes of donuts and 44 ounce Diet Coke...go figure?

Survivor VS. Hannah Montana

All 25 Kids..almost

So...it was our little Haili Boosies 11th Birthday this past week and let me tell you what an exciting week she had: First of all she was able to have a party this year. She was making the list of friends to invite when Leo popped his head in and told her to invite the

WHOLE

soccer team (he coaches) so we had about 25 kids instead of 10. She was going to invite some of them, but not all 15!

Lulu with her "tree mail"

Then she tossed the idea around for awhile what kind of "theme" she wanted to have. After going back and forth and because our family LOVES Survivor, she decided on this as her theme. Once all the kids arrived we divided them into 3 tribes. We sent them to special "islands" in the house for them to converse with their team. Then Lulu would go to each tribe and give them clues for the challenges. It turned out SO cute!

The winning team showing their tongues

The first challenge was an eating contest. 3 members of each tribe had to eat an ice cream sundae with diced hotdogs, pickles and salsa to win.

"Where the heck is the dog treat you guys? I know we had it!"

The second challenge was a scavenger hunt around the neighborhood...don't we all love those? I made sure there were all kinds of weird, random items so the hunt would take up a lot of time since the party was 4 hours long...yes, 4 hours!

All 3 tribes arrived back within seconds of each other and when I was crossing off items from Tribe #1's list, one of their things mysteriously disappeared. So, I told them they didn't have everything.. They were all mad as heck and then realized that the item they were missing was a dog treat and off to the side of the group on the grass was Lulu smacking and licking her lips. It was hilarious...the dog was eating their stuff!

Balancing Challenge

The last challenge was a physical challenge balancing on their legs as a team. As you can only imagine a game with this many girls, there was bound to be some crying. So, insteading of hearing 25 girls cry, we manuevered a 3-way tie. So, we had some tie breaking questions. It was a blast!

Okay...so that was the party. Probably even MORE exciting for Haili was the present Tia Sandra gave her the day before...Hannah Montana tickets. Not just Hannah Montana tickets, but tickets in a suite, and not just any suite, the suite sitting right smack dab in front of the stage. So off Haili went to the concert with her cousin Paula. They had so much fun! It was really cute to see how excited they were as we were driving down to the Delta Center (I know it's named something else now, but I still think of it as the Delta Center). As Leo ran the girls in I sat in the car waiting and watching all the moms walking in with their cute little girls all decked out...it made me want to go see the concert myself. And as my kids know, I DO know every flippin Hannah Montana song by heart...not by choice but because Radio Disney is all that my kids allow me to listen to in the car. In fact, I hate to admit this, but I even listen to it when they aren't with me.

Paula & Haili at the concert

So, once again, Haili had a fabulous birthday. But not just any fabulous birthday, she had the best birthday in 11 years!

Happy Birthday Haili Boo...we love you so much and are so happy you are our Llama!